Tales of a Modern Hero
by StellaTheReviewer
Summary: THIS DOES NOT CONTAIN THE FULL STORY. In this story are only the chapters from the original story that do not contain any text from the books. I have permission from Seaweed Princess of the Fandom to publish them. The plot: Percy & Co go back in time to tell the gods how to prevent everything bad that has happened- such as two wars. Stuff happens.
1. Introduction

Hello everybody! I would just like to point out first of all that this is not written by me. I'm making a beta profile, but I can't do it without having published something. So my dear friend Liz, AKA Seaweed Princess of the Fandom gave me permission to publish some chapters from her story that was taken down. The story was about Percy Jackson and a bunch of his friends going back in time to show the Olympian Council the books and try to prevent all that had happened. Since that's not allowed, this story only has the chapters from the original that contain no text from the books. Here's the introduction, I hope you like it!

It was Summer, and the gods were bickering about something stupid, as usual.

This time it was about the fall of Thalia – she had fought the Cyclops, saved her friends, and just turned into a tree. Zeus had saved her, but not everybody was happy with it.

"Hades!" Screamed the Lord of the Sky at his brother. "You are going to pay for killing my daughter!"

"She isn't dead." He just said, shrugging his shoulders. "And _you're_ one to talk. You know what you did to _my_ family!"

While Zeus paled, the other gods just watched in silence as they yet again stood waiting for a war, awaiting to happen any moment now. Sure, the Big Three were always fighting one way or another, and killing each other's children always seemed to make them even more mad at each other. Poseidon stood quietly by, knowing that if they knew he'd broken the oath as well, they'd murder his son, maybe even making sure _Perseus_ wouldn't make it into a tree.

Suddenly a bright light alighted the Throne Room, and all the voices quieted down. Two white pegasi appeared, carrying a big white letter towards the Lord of the Sky. Flabbergasted he took it, staring at Hermes for an explanation. Hermes shrugged, apparently also unaware of what was happening.

As soon as Zeus had grabbed the letter the two pegasi disappeared, again with the bright light. "What is the meaning of this?" He exclaimed, but nobody knew the answer. Even Apollo, god of the Sun, didn't know where the light came from, even though it _was_ his expertise. When no one answered, Zeus sighed, and read the letter:

 _"Dear Gods._

 _It is, for you, a few years before the Great Prophecy comes to pass. To save many millions of people, many children of the gods, and maybe one or two of your own, we are going to send you a box of books for you to read. They are about the greatest heroes of all time, and naming my friend, Perseus Jackson and his friends. They come to read with you as well, though they are from the future. (And your kids from your time period will read with you as well.)_

 _This is with permission from the Lord of The Sky,_

 _After the votes of the whole Olympian family,_

 _With a loving salute,_

 _Hermes and Apollo."_

"WHAT?!" Yelled Zeus at the two gods, and they backed a little in their thrones.

"Father," Apollo began, "this is from future us. Future you apparently approved this. I guess we have to do this."

He huffed. In the distance, thunder boomed. "This makes no sense. Books? What books? And who is Perseus Jackson? Perseus was one of mine, I remember, but he's dead. And his last name isn't Jackson."

Poseidon stayed quiet. He knew his brother wasn't going to like this.

Athena saw his unusual quiet behavior, and raised a brow. "Father, the letter just said that our kids from now and the future are going to bring the box with the books. I guess they will explain it to us, won't they?"

Right on time, the third bright light from that day brightened the Throne Room. The loud yelling of the people who fell hard onto the marble floor almost covered Zeus's swearing. Almost.

Just when the kids almost materialized on the floor, a second letter appeared in Zeus's hand. He swore again, this time hard enough to be heard by the entire Olympian family. Hera glared at him, daring him to apologize for the swearing. He did not, and just read the letter:

 _"By the way;_

 _No maiming, no pulverizing, no blasting with lightning. I am looking to you, Zeus, Ares, and Perseus. These kids decide the future of your home. Killing them means bringing yourselves doom._

 _Oh, and something else. Bringing these books to life and being able to alter the future comes with a price. A price Jackson will pay: he will feel and experience everything he does in the book. As do the other heroes written about in their point of view._

 _Good luck!"_

Zeus grimaced. Hopefully this annoying Jackson would have a lot of pain; that would make reading a whole lot more interesting.

Poseidon paled, and Athena kept watching him, suddenly realizing that he knew that so called Jackson. She didn't say anything.

The children in the middle of the Throne Room started yelling at the gods.

"Hey," said blonde girl, trying to attract the attention of the gods. It worked. They all glared at the girl. She was maybe 18, 19 years old, and was absolutely beautiful. She didn't try to look it, but her dazzling grey eyes stared at them with an intelligence way too great for her age, and her blonde hair hang a little loose over her shoulders. She wore an orange shirt with the words "CAMP HALFBLOOD" on it. Athena smiled. This was obviously one of hers. "Why did you summon us? I _hope_ to congratulate us for winning the war for you."

The gods all gasped. What the hell was this girl thinking? They were the gods, nobody spoke to them like that.

Hades grumbled, and the whole room darkened. "And who do you think you are, _girl,_ thinking you can address us like that? And which war? As far as I am concerned, we are not at a war."

All the kids just glared at them. The blonde girl suddenly gasped, and grasped a handsome boy's shoulders. "Seaweed Brain! It worked!"

"No way," he muttered.

The gods exchanged looks. "What worked? Sending yourselves back in time to let us read your stories and hopefully change your future?" Asked Athena, and the blonde girl nodded.

"Yes, mom."

People who were obviously too slow to understand the likeness of the girl and Athena gasped. "Athena," grumbled Zeus, "she one of yours?"

Dionysus answered, "Uh, duh" and all the demigods laughed. All the kids were around the age of the blonde girl, and they weren't with very many. Nobody had any box full of box with them.

Athena was growing impatient. "Explain who you are, how this is going to go down, and why exactly you wanted to do this."

"Who we are." Said the boy Athena's daughter had just grabbed. He was handsome, all right. All the demigods all made space for him, or stared at him in adoration – maybe without even being aware of doing so. It was obvious that everybody looked up at him. He stepped forward and glared at the gods with a look of blame, as if they personally had ruined his life. With, maybe knowing the history of the gods, was very possible. His green eyes and raven black hair were dazzling, making some of the female gods wonder if he was one of Aphrodite's. "Our names, our parentage, our titles? That may take a while. That may be dangerous." He eyes the bolt of Zeus trapped to the thigh of the Lord of the Sky. "For us, I mean." He spoke with no fear, as if being blasted to bits actually wasn't that scary, but he only said it because it was expected. His green eyes were beautiful, but full of age and wisdom. He wasn't a kid of Athena, but he had seen so much in his life that he had aged far beyond his own.

Athena sighed. "Just state your name, rank, and intention."

A Satyr in their midst stepped forward. "I am Grover Underwood, Lord of the Wild, Finder of Pan, and savior of Olympus."

Zeus grumbled, and the lightning bolt flashed. He didn't hit anyone, but Grover nevertheless flinched as if he was hit. "Grover. You are the one who abandoned my daughter! It is because of you that he is dead!"

 _"DAD!"_ yelled a girl from the demigods, causing the whole room to fall quiet. She had startling blue eyes, and black hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wore only black, with a big sword clasped to her thigh. She looked like demigod – okay, maybe a very angry powerful demigod – but she had this sort of aura all around her only to be found around immortals. "I choose to stay behind. It wasn't Grover's fault. Oh, and I'm Thalia Grace, Daughter of Zeus, Lieutenant of the Huntresses of Artemis, by the way," she added quickly when everybody had fallen silent with open mouths. "No tree." She said, slowly. "Obviously."

Hades blinked a couple of times. Zeus was quiet, which was weird.

Athena talked for them. "Obviously." She repeated, slowly. "I guess asking for an explanation isn't going to get us an answer?"

"Nope." Thalia answered, and smiled. She was just as scared of the gods as the guy who spoke earlier. Not many demigods spoke with such certainty to the gods.

Artemis found her voice again. "Lieutenant? My huntresses? But, Zoë…"

Thalia's sad look made her fall quiet. It didn't take Athena to understand that look.

Athena waved her hand after a moment of silence for the brave huntress Zoë Nightshade. "All right. Hurry up now, I don't think you'll be able to hold the gods' attention for very much longer."

All the kids laughed. The blonde girl stepped forward, waving her hair backwards in an act of confidence. "I am Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena," The goddess smiled at her, "Architect of Olympus, defeater of Arachne, finder of the Athena Parthenos, Wanderer of the Labyrinth," her voice fell so silent that no one but the boy next to her heard her, " _of Tartarus as well_ ,", her voice grew louder again, "and one of the seven."

The silence was deafening. This time, it was Hera who broke the silence. "Wait. Wait, all those titles… one of the seven? But that's the second great prophecy! My plan worked?"

"What plan?" Apollo asked, but fell silent as he watched every single one of the heroes glaring at Hera hoping their looks could turn her to stone. Obviously they didn't want to know, and Apollo let it go.

"Athena Parthenos." Athena repeated, her eyes wide. "My mark? You found it? You defeated… her?"

Annabeth smiled at the pride in her mother's voice, but before she could answer, the boy who stood beside her did. "Yeah, yeah she did. Almost died trying, by the way, but well… don't want to spoil anything about us."

The gods were dying to know why they even needed an architect for their town, but they let that go also. Waiting for answers wasn't going to work. They had to read the books.

Another demigod stepped forward. He looked like death. His smile was forced, as if he didn't smile often, and the bags under his eyes were way too great. He obviously looked older then he was. His hair was the same colour as the guy standing beside Annabeth, but his hair looked a whole lot less alive. He wore a black jacket, black shirt, black boots, and had an impressive looking blade strapped to his thigh. "Uh, don't blast me, okay?" He asked, and when no one answered, he sighed. "I'm Nico di Angelo," Hades gasped, and some gods glared at him, "Son of Hades."

"YOU BROKE THE OATH?" Yelled Zeus – he had stayed silent for a long time, and suddenly all his anger busted out. "I can't believe you!"

"I didn't!" Hades raised his arms. "He was born in the early 1900s; I don't know how he's here!"

"He's not lying, Uncle," Nico said, sort of smiling at Zeus. "He kept the oath. May I go on?"

Zeus mumbled something, but Poseidon gestured at the Son of Hades to continue before Zeus changed his mind and ignore the warnings of the gods of the future to blast the kids to bits.

Nico took a deep breath. "Okay. Savior of Olympus, Ghost King, Wanderer of the Labyrinth, of Tartarus as well, uhm," He fell silent, obviously trying to remember the things he'd done. He didn't realize the whole Throne Room had fallen silent at his casual mention of the worst place on earth, as if it was just as important as the weather of last week. "I guess I'll remember more stuff later on."

" _Tartarus."_ Whispered Hades sadly, eying his son with great depression. The boy didn't look so well. Well, maybe that was obvious, but walking through Tartarus? It was a wonder that the kid was still alive.

Two boys stepped forward. "Connor," The tallest one said, "Travis," The other one followed, and together they said: "Stoll!"

Hermes laughed. "They're mine!"

"Right we are!" Connor said, smiling as wide as he could. The guy reeked of trouble, as did his brother. They weren't the same age, but anyone who didn't pay any attention would've thought they were twins. "We're also heroes of Olympus."

Three kids stepped forward. They seemed nervous around the gods, but not because of fear, more as if all hell would break loose if they introduced themselves. "I'm Hazel Levesque, Daughter of Pluto, one of the seven, controller of the Mist," said a pretty girl, _small_ girl, with brownish curls covering her face. The gods just glared at the ' _Pluto_ ' part, but Hades looked shocked at her. She was supposed to be dead.

"A _Roman?"_ Athena asked, a voice full of hate, but the kids quickly continued.

A very handsome kid stepped forward, waving at the Lord of the Sky. "Hi, dad. I'm Jason Grace, and, yeah, son of Jupiter. One of the Seven, flyer, defeater of giants."

Hera glared at her husband. "Even in your _Roman_ form you cheat on me?"

Smartly, Zeus didn't say anything.

The third kid looked a bit weird. He was big, a body full of muscles, and a handsome Canadian slash Chinese face glaring at the gods. He could have even overpowered Jason, or the boy with the raven black hair, but he looked nervous with his own body, as he wasn't used to so many muscles. He kept fidgeting with his clothing, as if he hit something beneath them. "Uhm, my name is Frank Zhang, Legacy of Poseidon, son of Mars, Shape shifter, one of the Seven.."

The second last stepped forward. This time, guessing her parentage wasn't hard. She was the most beautiful demigod the gods had ever seen, with dark brown hair covering her perfect face. Only, she too, as Jason, had a shy smile, as if she wasn't used to being pretty. "I'm Piper," she said. Her voice immediately brought peace to the throne room. "One of the seven, Charm Speaker, defeater of many many monsters I wouldn't be able to name. Oh, and my mom's Aphrodite," She added casually, as if she wasn't proud of it.

The boy with the raven black hair and green eyes was the last one of the bunch. He smiled with a crooked smile at the gods – only his mysterious smile had besides 'this kid is trouble' another vibe. A vibe Aphrodite was all too familiar with; love. Even Athena knew that the kid would be able to make anyone love him if he tried. "Right. That leaves me then. I'm Perseus Jackson, although everybody calls me Percy. Son of Poseidon –"

He was also interrupted by the angry gods starting to yell at Poseidon. Hera, Zeus, Hades, Persephone, even Athena started yelling at him.

"Seaweed Brain!" Athena yelled at him, causing the demigods to laugh, but she ignored them. "I expected Zeus to break the oath, even Hades," – "HEY!" yelled Hades, but everybody ignored him – "but you?"

Poseidon smiled. "Well…" Seemingly having no explanation, he shrugged. "Oops."

The kid, Percy, winced, and took a deep breath before continuing. "Okay. That bit done… now the titles. Right." Annabeth elbowed him, and smiling at her, he went on. "Child of the first Great Prophecy, one of the Seven, savior of Olympus, destroyer of Kronos, defeater of Medusa, the Fates, the Gorgons, Polybotes, uh, probably some more giants, I also defeated Ares, Hades, 'm an ex-barer of the Achilles-curse, uh… Did I miss anything?" The gods just stared at him in astonishment. "Oh, right. Wanderer of the Labyrinth as well."

Annabeth laughed at the looks on the gods' faces. "God, Percy, watch their faces,"

All the demigods laughed, Thalia and Percy had to grab their sides to keep themselves from rolling on the floor.

Nico huffed. "And you probably even forgot a few more titles."

Thalia shrugged. "Don't we all sometimes. And counting all the monsters Percy defeated? Impossible."

Athena blinked a couple of times. "Uhm."

Poseidon laughed. "Wow, you guys really did a nice job of startling Athena. I have never heard her say 'uhm' before!"

That broke the ice. All the gods joined his laughing, all except Athena, and Annabeth, who both turned crimson red. "Shut up!" Athena said, causing Poseidon only to laugh more. "This kid claims to be even more powerful Hercules… and you are all here laughing as idiots!"

Poseidon just huffed. "He's one of mine. Doesn't surprise me."

Athena sighed. "Okay. Fine. On your head be it, believing this kid. And the others. But that doesn't answer this; where are those supposed books we are to read? And the letter said our kids from _this_ time period would be joining us as well."

The demigods glared at each other. Percy sighed. "Look, Athena… Uh, I mean, Lady Athena," the goddess obviously liked the second naming more, "All we know is that Hermes and Apollo granted our wish to alter our future. Uhm, our past. Your future. Gods, this is messed up." His crooked smile appeared. "All we know is that you are going to read the past, and that the main character of the books – the kid whose thoughts you will read – will experience all the pain and emotion and stuff the kid in the book does. We all agreed to those terms. We don't know anything about our younger selves –"

Just as he said that, the fourth bright light appeared. Zeus swore, but this time, the other gods joined in. even Hestia, surprising all the gods. Three children appeared; it was obvious who they were. Grover looked maybe twelve, and was very cute – for a satyr. His eyes were big and brown, and he was a scrawny looking kid, trembling with fear as he stared at the sight of all the gods.

"Oh, gods, oh no, Zeus, uh,"

The other two kids stared at their surroundings with surprise. They were both maybe six, or seven. The girl was cute, with pretty blonde curls, and big grey eyes. But the cutest of the kids was obviously the boy. His eyes were big and fearful, his lips were trembling, and his hair – way too long – pointed in all directions. He wore a way too big sweater, and he trembled with fear as he quickly sat on the floor and made himself small. His face was covered in bruises. The girl didn't have such fright, she stared at the gods as if she recognized them, holding her blade tight. "Where is Thalia?" She demanded to know. "I was just running with her! What happened? What did you _do?!"_ her tone was exactly the same as Annabeth's had been when she arrived there, and all the gods smiled at the similarities. Little Annabeth – Annie – was a copy.

Little Percy – P.J. – however… he couldn't look more different than his older self. Speaking of, the older Percy winced as he saw his younger self, and looked anywhere but.

"Hello, children," Poseidon began. His voice shook with fear. Why was his little son so afraid? Why was he beaten up? Were it monsters? Bullies? "You are here safe. You may not know who we are," Annie scowled at him, as if she couldn't understand why he didn't understand that she was smart for a seven-year-old, "But I promise we won't harm you. You are pulled from your time" – that was easier than trying to explain them something they didn't – "to read some books with us."

Annie didn't seem very happy with that answer, and sat on the floor beside the trembling P.J. She stared at the little kid, frowning why he seemed so frightened.

The gods all sighed.

Zeus relaxed in his throne. He nodded at Hestia, who – with a little wave of her hand – made big sofa's appear for the demigods to sit on. Percy and Annabeth immediately sat side by side. Nico and Thalia sat together, and Grover took the three little kids with him to the biggest couch, as if he wanted to take care of them. The Romans, Hazel and Frank, sat together. Jason and Piper choose a lovecouch, much to the liking of Aphrodite. She squealed with happiness. As soon as everyone sat, a box appeared in front of Zeus, containing ten books.

Everybody let go of their breath.

 _"Ten books."_ Apollo exclaimed. "Ten? This is going to be the death of me."

Athena rolled her eyes, and grabbed the one at the top before anyone could stop her. "This seems to be the first. _Percy Jackson; the lightning thief."_

Percy Jackson paled. "Oh, Styx," he muttered in Annabeth ears. "They're from my point of view."

Thalia cursed as well. "Kelp Head, you've g –"

Poseidon glared at her, and she was hit by a big wave of water before he could stop himself.

Thalia gasped for breath. "Wh – what? Lord Poseidon? What'd I do?"

"Nobody can address me as Kelp Head." _Only Athena,_ he thought, but didn't say anything.

Percy started laughing. "Oh, she meant me, dad. I'm kelp head. And Seaweed Brain. And –"

Poseidon blushed, but hit it quickly with a smile. "Oh, right. Sorry Thalia."

"No problem, mister Poseidon," she muttered under her breath, and the demigods all laughed. Athena joined them.

"Okay," Hermes said, and was stared at. It was the first time he said anything in a long time. "Just start reading. It's going to take eons like this."


	2. Solangelo Dinner

Go to the first chapter for info.

 _Aphrodite closed the book._

 _Apollo eyed Hestia, wiggling his eyebrows. "Dinner?" He asked._

 _"Dinner," Hestia answered._

 _The brother's Stoll started to laugh. "Maybe 'dinner' will be their always."_

All the demigods gathered in the kitchen hall – which was surprisingly small and ordinary considering they were on Olympus. No way that everyone would've fit – the gods had to eat in the Throne Room. Hestia explained that no god had ever took the liberty to _be_ in the kitchen, much less _use_ it, other than she and Hera. So the kitchen was as big as an ordinary classroom, which now contained very chatty demigods and three little kids staring at the future people.

Percy was eating pancakes – he was drowning them syrup. Annabeth was eyeing him with half a smirk, as if she was trying to hold herself from either laughing, or making a comment.

Annie and P.J. were just eyeing their older selves, wondering how on earth they could be those two people. P.J. was wondering how he ended up with such a beautiful, smart and amazing girl – when he was a nobody. Annie was trying to grasp the fact that she, the most rational person she knew (except her mom) could end up with a guy she thought was dimwitted and annoying from the moment they met. The two kids didn't even touch their food, they were too busy just staring.

Frank was trying to find something to eat in the cabinets – something that would still taste good, without lactose. Hazel was trying to use the stove to bake some more pancakes for whoever wanted, but her boyfriend kept 'accidentally' bumping into her on his search. She didn't complain.

Even the couple Piper and Jason were inseparable. Jason was eating pancakes, too, but without syrup, and he ate very neat, not spilling anything anywhere. (A big contradiction to the mess Grover and Percy were making.) His girlfriend tried to do anything to make him spill, from nudging him in his thigh, to kissing him on the cheek, or stabbing him with a fork in his leg. Nothing worked. He stayed cool, smiling at her, as if nothing she did could piss him off. Piper got redder and angrier with the minute, but bursted out laughing when Grover got sick of watching the couple and threw the bowl of syrup in Jason's direction.

Grover didn't dare to sit anywhere near them again – after Jason lived up to his infamous nickname, _'Sparky.'_

Thalia was trying to cut her pancakes in tiny little animals – though here so called 'elephant' didn't even come close to resembling the elephant all the roman demigods knew from camp. He resembled Hermes' crooked nose – but no one had the guts to tell her. Connor and Travis just kept complimenting her on her creations, winking at her, making silly faces, as if to taunt her from her sacred oath to keep away from boys.

They, too, sat away quickly, when they realized Thalia truly was the sister of Jason.

The only one in the room not enjoying himself was Nico di Angelo. He eyed the group of happy demigods with a heavy burden – one of a longing for his secret heart. Normally, he would have sat there, equally sad, goggling over Percy's cuteness, torn between wanting to hate Annabeth and knowing he liked her. Now? He didn't even remotely looked longingly at the son of the sea god. Yeah – sure, that sixpack he showed off earlier had been dazzling, but it had made him miss his boyfriend Will even more. And reading the books, not being able to glance at Apollo every once in a while, thinking about _his_ love all the time?

Nico balled his fists. No. He wouldn't do this. He promised Reyna – dam it, he promised Will, too – that he wouldn't go back to brooding all the dam time. _'Doctor's orders.'_ Yeah, sure, his thoughts were still haunted with his time alone in Tartarus, and the fear of never coming back from the shadows, but somehow, missing Will was worse.

"Hey, Death Breath," Thalia suddenly said, and Nico looked up from his uneaten plate. She was eyeing him with pity, as if she knew what he was thinking about. Dam it, Nico thought angrily. Her brother told her. He recognized her expression immediately – it was the same one Jason had every time he looked at him. "Are you okay?"

That did it. Without answering Nico stood up quickly, pushed his plate away – and tried to ignore the fact that his left hand passed through the plate as if it was mist – and walked away.

He hated this. He hated reading about his old crush, realizing that idolizing Percy to be this amazing hero in his head wasn't far from the truth. He hated missing his crush from now. He hated it all, he hated everything, and what he hated above all was that everyone –

CRASH.

Without a warning, something – or someone? – had pushed Nico from his path, pulling him in an unoccupied broom closet, yanking him from his dark – and, well, son-of-Hades worthy thoughts.

"Dude!" Nico yelled, his voice an octave higher then it'd normally would've been. The broom closet door had closed behind him, turning the world dark. Nico's eyes widened. Great. Just great. Darkness. His newest biggest fear. Just as he needed. "What the hell are you thinking? I'm Nico di Angelo –"

The something that had knocked him off his feet starting laughing, and a weight that had been on Nico's chest ever since they had been sent to the past suddenly lifted. He _knew_ that laugh! Furthermore – he _owned_ that laugh!

 _"Will!"_ Nico yelled even louder, smiling for the first time of what felt in ages. The lump of vastness that was probably before him somewhere in the darkness was shaking, and without waiting Nico lurched forward and put his arms around the bigger, warmer, _better,_ boy. "Will," he whispered this time, breathing in the warm and sunny smell his boyfriend tended to have.

Will laughed softly, embracing the small and trembling boy. "I missed you too, Death Boy."

Nico whimpered. "Don't lie."

"Doctor's never lie."

Something welled up in Nico's chest, and before he knew it, he was laughing. Genuinely laughing. For the first time what felt like ages forgetting his time in Tartarus, forgetting what it felt like to survive from poisonous air, forgetting everything. "Will, you're not a doctor."

"Pff, diploma's. Who cares about that? I'm the friggin son of Apollo, how much prove for my _dazzling_ healing powers do you want?"

Nico just gniffled a bit, still not wanting to let go of him just yet, even if that meant that they had to stay in that broom closet forever. "Anyway," he said slowly, "how'd you suddenly get here? Percy didn't include you in his wish to come with him to the past." _For which Nico still felt incredible anger._

Will was tracing figures with his hand on Nico's back, making Nico shiver even more – but not because of fear this time. He was making figures of the sun, and… Hades' son gasped. A skull. God. Will was perfect. "Um… this is sort of embarrassing. I felt kind of… lonely, without you at camp. Yeah, sure, it had only been a day or something, but ever since the battle and your treatments…" Nico blushed. Oh, did he remember those treatments. "We've never really been apart for more than two hours. I realized that. After you'd all gone. And, truth be told, I got a little jealous, too. Reading about that git called Percy? Sure, I wanted to do that too!"

Nico sniggered. He tried not to blush – because seriously! Will missed _him?_ He realized they'd never been apart, too? – and was for the first time glad they were surrounded by shadows. "Percy isn't a git."

"Sure he is. Way too perfect. Way too dimwitted to not notice that such an incredible hunk was crushing on him."

Nico blinked a couple of times, and looked up. Saw nothing. Realized – oh, yeah, it was dark. "What? No way. Don't tell me you're jealous of Percy? You're a great hero, Will! You saved so many lives! You got Annabeth even back from the brink of death, you saved me… without you, I wouldn't be able to hold you, much less be here." His voice started to crack, and he tried to keep his cool by breathing in slowly. "Listen, everyone looks up to Percy, but you are one of the few people to be wrong in doing so."

Will snorted. "Though I am very, _very_ flattered, sweetie –"

"Don't call me that."

" – I didn't mean that. I'm not jealous of his heroic fame. Dude, do you _want_ to be Percy Jackson? Hell to the no. That dude has got some bad luck."

"But," Nico spluttered, "why would you be jealous of him?"

Nico suddenly felt two hot, sweet-tasting lips on his, and he melted. The whole world disappeared, and he knew that even if his dad and Apollo would yank this door open and bust the two of them, he wouldn't have cared. Mrs. O'Leary could walk in and jump on them, and he wouldn't notice.

In a dazed state, Will stopped kissing him, and turned on the light.

Blinded, Nico cringed, blinked his eyes a hundred times to adjust to the sudden brightness, and gazed at his handsome, wonderful, _perfect_ boyfriend smiling down at him, an equally dazed expression on his face, as if he had just skipped a few steps on the stairs. "I am jealous of Percy Jackson because he was the one to steal your heart." He whispered after a few blissed moments, looking away.

'Death Boy' cringed again, clasped Will's head in both heads, turning Will's gaze in his direction. "Will Solace," Nico said slowly, as if he was talking to a little child. "It wasn't _his_ to steal."


	3. Chapter 3

See first chapter for info.

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So it was that the group of people – some may even call it a family – all gathered outside.

Percy joined Apollo on the basketball field, and a couple of other demigods followed – such as Annabeth, Frank, Jason, Hazel, Connor, Travis and Will. The gods that joined them were Artemis – she wanted to win from her brother, that much was obvious from her eagerness to play – Ares, Zeus and Hephaestus. Hermes wandered off, saying he needed to get back to his emails and work, and he disappeared in seconds, his caduceus clenched in his hands. His sons looked after him, disappointed that they wouldn't get to play a good basketball game with their dad, but they quickly lost themselves in the game.

Percy held the ball, dribbling it a bit, as if he was testing himself as to how good he was. He hadn't played it in a while – no demigod had time for sports when all you had to do was try to live another day – but it seemed like he still could be able to stand his own. He dribbled faster now, more confident, a smile tucking at his lips. He ignored all the others who were trying to catch his attention – to make teams – and scored a goal without any difficulties. He was smiling more broadly now, and turned around to the others. "This'll be fun," he said, and winked at his girlfriend, who had been staring at his sudden talent in basketball. "Who wants to be the team captain?"

Annabeth quickly put up her hand, as did Apollo.

"We're with thirteen people," Annabeth pointed out, "So I guess that one team gets three gods, and three demigods, and the other two gods, and five demigods."

"Sounds fine by me," Apollo said, wiggling his eyebrows. "So, I'll go first."

Annabeth didn't really argue – it was still hard defying the gods, even if they acted so normal around them now. "Okay. First we do the demigods."

"Sure. I'll take… my son." Apollo smiled wider when Will cheered. "Duh,"

"Percy." Annabeth said immediately. Percy joined her, smirking.

"Frank."

"Jason."

"Connor."

"Travis."

The two brothers stuck out there tong to each other: this game was definitely going to be interesting.

Apollo suddenly frowned. "Hey, wait a minute. This means that I get four demigods and only two god extra, and _you_ get three gods, _and_ Percy!"

Annabeth smiled cheekily. Her mother, who was watching with the other gods from the sidelines, laughed, too. "You wanted to go first."

"Curse Athena's wisdom!" Apollo said, huffed, and then gestured to Hazel. "Fine, come join us."

Hazel didn't look all too happy of being chosen last, but she joined him nevertheless, and stood next to her boyfriend. She made a promise to herself to make Apollo understand that choosing her wasn't going to be a mistake.

Annabeth looked at the gods. _Now_ it would get tricky. Sure, she felt bad that Hazel was chosen last, but if a _god_ felt abandoned… felt as Hazel did right now… the worst damage Hazel could do was make you feel guilty; a god wouldn't think twice about seriously hurting you. If Annabeth choose wisely, not strategic, she had to choose Zeus. He was the boss, the Lord of the Sky, and he considered himself the most important god. If she would choose strategically, she would choose Artemis. Nobody would want to win as badly as she would if she was fighting her brother. But then again… maybe Apollo wouldn't even choose his own sister, due to the rivalry… "Zeus," she decided after a while.

Jason smiled. This was only the second time he had met his dad, and now he was playing with him? A mundane game such as basketball? It didn't matter that this was his father's Greek form – it was his father still.

Apollo sighed. "Ares."

"Artemis."

"Hephaestus."

"Wait," Percy intervened. "Now Apollo's got," he counted heads, "four demigods, and three gods. And Annabeth's got three demigods and two gods."

Annabeth sighed. Right. Her math of three-three, and five-two hadn't worked, she had been too caught up with the choosing of the people to notice.

"I'll join them," Athena said suddenly, and stood beside her daughter, her grey eyes blazing with a sudden burst of energy. "Now it's even. Four demigods and three gods each."

Annabeth blinked a couple of times, as if she couldn't believe her own mother would join this childish game. "Really?"

Athena smiled at her, and it was almost as if she transformed. Percy suddenly saw something he had never truly seen before – Athena looked a _lot_ like Annabeth, the Annabeth he knew now, when she wasn't scowling at him. "Really. Now, who wants to be the referee?"

Piper put up her hand. "It's like that job was made for me, believe me."

Nobody argued. Annabeth and Apollo flipped a coin – Annabeth won – and the game began.

The gods who were watching, such as Hades, Demeter, Dionysus, Aphrodite, Hestia and Hera, just watched in amusement as their family members were all behaving like idiots, screaming at each other, flipping on another off and laughing. They all cracked up when a laughing Percy ran by, his hands in the air, as Ares had ran after him dripping wet, screaming: "FOUL PLAY!"

Nico was sitting beside his father, silently watching in amusement, not finding the will to play with them. He later said that he was watching the little kids – Grover, Annie and P.J. didn't dare to play with the gods – but his boyfriend would see right through that excuse. The real reason why Nico wasn't playing? Well, let's just say that he was scared out of his mind that if he would bump into people like Frank was doing, or if he would dribble so long as Percy did now and then, he would disappear into the shadows. He would've passed through Jason's body when Frank's didn't. The ball would've slipped through his hands instead of staying there. So he just watched, leaned back in the marble and frankly uncomfortable chairs, and enjoyed himself.

The only two people not present with the activities were Poseidon and Sally. They had drifted off, talking about their lives until that moment. Sally was explaining why she had chosen Gabe to marry – Poseidon was turning angrier and angrier each time she mentioned Gabe as 'Gabriel' – and Poseidon was, yet again, apologizing for being absent.

"This stupid law," he muttered, walking down the gardens. "You have no idea how much I hate it. And I'm not the only one, I know it. The look on Zeus's face when Thalia was turned into a tree… Or Hades's, for that matter, when he saw his children sitting there…"

Sally sighed. She was walking just one step behind him, making sure that when he would take out his anger – and she knew him well enough to know he would – she was at a safe distance. "You have already apologized, Lord Poseidon,"

"It's just Poseidon, Sally," he said, turning to look over his shoulder.

She was blushing.

He faltered in his walk. "Still?" He asked, and didn't need to explain what he meant. He had found it so endearing that whatever he did, whatever Sally went through, she still found it difficult to call him Poseidon, as if he would disappear if she addressed him wrong, as if he would do something so rashly, as if he didn't care for her as much as he did. She still believed him to be much better, not hers, far too great for her to reach. To cross that barrier, maybe for once and for all, he took her hand in his, and smiled. It was the smile that had always seemed to calm her in the past – and maybe do some other things, that maybe had resulted into having a son, but Poseidon _did not_ want to think about those distractions right now – and it seemed to work its magic.

She crossed the space between them, squeezed his hand, and walked comfortably beside him now. "Poseidon," she said after a while, a smile in her voice. "This feels like a dream."

"I know," Poseidon said solemnly, breathing in deeply. He was leading her back to the basketball field – not to play, oh no, but he had a surprise waiting for her. "I missed you." He suddenly said. "And not your talk or your beauty, though you _are_ beautiful," Sally was blushing more obvious now, "but just… you're presence. Your unique, and above all kind, soul. And I have to confess something." He was tucking her forward now, his pace quickening. "I didn't just bring you here with us to help Percy – though that certainly was an important perk – but, _I_ needed to see you too. Reading about your death, or not-death, I'm not sure, it made me think about our past. What I could change. What I _want_ to change. I hate the law that forbids me to see you after you had our son, I hate it with all my power, and I know I can't change your mind about living with me at the bottom of the sea, I know you believe that because I'm a god I don't care, and I know I have a wife but believe me, Sally Jackson," his voice was sounding more confident and eager and kind and loving at the second, and Sally was founding herself to be glued to his voice, wanting to hear more, and at the same time so embarrassed she wanted to run away, "believe me when I say that I have loved you, and love you still."

He stopped walking.

They had arrived at his favorite place in Olympus: the swimming pool. The _salt_ swimming pool. It was around the corner from the basketball field, just within hearing-range to hear their son cheering and playing happily with everyone. But Sally didn't even notice that – she didn't even notice the beautiful blossom on the clear-blue water, the light-pink daisies floating on the waves, nor the white marble steps glistering in the sun. All she could see were the sea-green eyes that she'd learned to love so much gazing down in her, his eyes speaking still. His speech still rang in her ears, his love confession almost making her cry. "Poseidon," she said, her voice cracking. She didn't trust her voice to say more, afraid she might burst into little stars if she even tried to explain what she was feeling right now.

He smiled, as if he knew what she was thinking, and took her other hand as well. His hands were warm and oh so soft. "Sally, do you want to swim with me?"

"Poseidon," she said again, her voice not much louder than a whisper, and leaned forward.

Poseidon leaned forward at the same time – and their lips joined in seconds. Maybe sparks flew. Maybe the oceans below were suddenly going crazy, turning into tornados and tsunamis, maybe Amphitrite was screaming on the top of her lungs to Poseidon that he should take his hands of this 'mortal woman', but he didn't listen. He ignored the tucking in his gut, he ignored the world around him, and he only felt those soft, warm and above all perfect lips on his, her tiny caring hands on his back, and her feet darting toward the water, as if she was asking permission.

He granted her that. Still kissing her – he never wanted to let go – he stepped in the water, going down the waves, pulling her with him. She didn't even falter. They had had so many underwater kisses for her to remember the exact amount, and she knew that when she was with him, breathing underwater wouldn't be a problem. Sure enough, when they finally broke apart, Sally saw that Poseidon had created her a perfect bubble. She smiled at him so broadly her face almost broke apart. Her eyes were tearing up – she loved him so much, and she could never tell him. "Poseidon," she said again, her voice ringing through the water.

He shook his head, his eyes turning sad again. He knew this moment was just that – a moment. Not a promise for a future. It was impossible, he had gotten caught up in the moment. He knew Sally would never agree to breaking the most ancient law there was, she would make sure Poseidon knew he couldn't stay with her, as much as she couldn't stay with him. "I'm sorry, Sally," he began, but she quickly cut him off.

"No, none of that." Her voice was clear now, as if she made a decision. It was confident and final: and Poseidon quickly shut up. "This thing we're doing, reading the books… it might take a while we're only halfway through one book, and we still got nine to go. I have no need to go back to Gabri- I mean, Gabe, just yet, now that Percy's here too. You're not going back to your palace. We have time."

Poseidon's eyes widened. _Was she thinking what he thought she was thinking?_ "Sally,"

She put up her hand. His hair was flying through the water now, making him look even more beautiful and godly. Maybe that weighed in her decision, maybe that didn't help to make her think rationally about this. In any way, she knew she wasn't making the best decision, and she almost certainly knew she was going to regret this the moment she had to go back to earth. "For now," she said, "temporarily."

"Sally…" his voice was so kind. "Do not take this lightly. You know how I am in this sort of thing."

She laughed, and Poseidon's eyes looked like she just rocked his world. "I know. This is a stupid decision. But to be frank…" she grinned cheekily, "I guess I still love you enough to be stupid once in a while."

Poseidon didn't wait any longer. He sped forward through the water, and almost crashed into her with so much force to topple them both over.


End file.
